Paris court keeps filmmaker Gilliam in suspense over Quixote movie

PARIS (Reuters) - British filmmaker Terry Gilliam will have to wait until Wednesday to learn if the Don Quixote movie he has spent two decades struggling to make will be allowed to screen at the Cannes Film Festival, which opens this week.

A Paris court on Monday heard a lawsuit to ban the screening, brought by a producer who says he has rights over “The Man who Killed Don Quixote”. The court said it would deliver its verdict on Wednesday afternoon.

That extends the agony for Gilliam, the former Monty Python member whose quest to make the film has been plagued by misfortune. An initial version, starring Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis, was abandoned in 2000.

The movie is due to close the Cannes Film Festival, which starts on Tuesday, screening after the awards ceremony on May 19.

But that depends on the court ruling.

Portuguese film producer Paulo Branco speaks to reporters as he leaves the courthouse in Paris, France, May 7, 2018. REUTERS/Charles Platiau

Gilliam’s lawyer said he was hopeful the injunction would be denied.

“We demonstrated that this prejudice is a figment of their imagination,” Benjamin Sarfati told reporters outside the courthouse.

“...It’s time for the film to be seen. It is Terry Gilliam’s most powerful desire that the film can meet with its audience.”

Paulo Branco, who brought the lawsuit, said: “The conflict with Terry Gilliam is something much deeper than what has been said today, that it is simply an issue of money. It is not that.”

Reporting by Feyi Adegbite; Writing by Robin Pomeroy; editing by John Stonestreet